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Sticking it to the marketers (or, how to ignore seasonal marketing)

I have these thoughts every year. It's time I finally spelled them out.

I know Labor Day is coming up on Monday, and that means no more white shoes (to whoever still owns white leather shoes), probably no more white jeans if you're following the rules, and welcome burgundy and plaid and earth tones. But I'm not having it. This whole change in clothing before the change of the season (the fall equinox isn't till September 23!) just makes me grumpy. Every year. And here's why.

  • For one, it's still dang hot outside, so I am not ready to swap my gladiators for riding boots. Nope.
  • Two, I love summer and living in Oregon, it doesn't start until around the 4th of July anyway, so I've really only had a month and a half of this! I still haven't worn that swimsuit I bought in June (first one I've bought since before our honeymoon)! I request an extension!
  • Thirdly, those first two reasons again - it's still summer, I'm not in denial and I love it!, and I am not ready to give it up just because the fashion industry and back-to-school shopping economy demand it.

Seriously, every year this time of year, I just want the ads and new store inventory and few too-fashion-forward people on the street to leave me be and let me keep wearing and loving my cut-offs!

(I am really predictable. I just did a search on my blog search bar for "not ready for fall" and yep, several early September posts came up, plus some early October ones like "...Finally, fall fashion." So I'm definitely predicting I won't be ready to wear and share and be excited about fall clothes until about a month from now!)

Go away, aggressive season change-rushing marketers

So when the fall fashion magazines start coming in early August, piling up because I am totally not ready to read them then, and the stores run out of sizes in shorts and tanks and start putting out the Halloween stuff, I just feel a little inconvenienced by it all.

I finally gave in and read my 700+ page magazine toward the end of this month. (At least 300 pages were ads for jeans and coats and other "fall fashion" things I will not be buying any time soon or ever.)

...with spreads like this. I mean, I can see how the hat and jacket and fair isle print are cute, but... it was 90 degrees the day I took this! I was sweating on my camera strap! It just seems a little cruel!

A gift to procrastinators

Also, I went into Old Navy the other day and averted my eyes from the new merchandise of cords and hoodies, and beelined to the clearance where the white shorts are. Big fan. If you're like me and almost never make it to the store, now's the time to pick up the summer stuff you haven't bought yet. I guess we can use this weird scheduling to our advantage and stay at our own pace while also avoiding paying full retail.

Learning to be less responsive to marketing in general

This has to be a super weird thing for a blogger to say, but I'm not your typical fashion blogger and I don't have any big clothing companies backing me. This season change (from my favorite season to one of the biggest shopping seasons) and the rush from the stores and advertisers to buy, buy, buy new stuff is a reminder that most of that marketing stuff (any time of year) is a push to separate us from our hard-earned money for stuff that won't really make our lives better.

I've gotten much better at saving money rather than spending it on clearance tees I wear once - partially because who has time to shop anymore?! - but from now through the holidays, resisting the messages gets a little harder. I think if I can make it through to October before buying anything long-sleeved, I'll be pretty happy!

Rant over. Stepping off soapbox.

But, if you're with me, stand strong!! Resist, and enjoy the sun while you can!


  1. WELL SAID!!!!! it is SOOOO frustrating that the stores push the seasons so hard! its all about money making. im in arkansas- summers last a while here i suppose. but in the midst of float/river/lake season youre looking for a swim suit but they are gone and replaced with sweatshirts and pumpkins!!!!!
    -standing strong thru september!!!

  2. Couldn't agree more with you. I'm a huge fan of summer and while I'm ready for it to wind down (it's kind of exhausting in New Orleans, haha), it's not fall yet. I feel like our society pushes so hard for the next thing that sometimes we forget how to enjoy the present.

  3. hah! i love this! not ready to hang up my whites yet either

  4. Thanks for writing this-
    it bugs me too that marketers always rush into the next season. Especially
    because that season will arrive like clockwork, just like it does every year. I
    feel like rushing it detracts from my sense of calm and enjoyment of the
    moment. I went to the thrift store yesterday and bought a dress to refashion
    into a sundress, because summer isn't over yet! I'm off to bask in the sun and
    soak up the rest of summer. Hope the rest of your summer is wonderful!

  5. I am hanging on to summer as long as possible too! But mainly because it's soo much easier to wear dresses being pregnant :)

  6. My husband uses this rush to the seasons for his own game too. He loves a certain store at the Woodburn outlet mall that I can't remember the name of. They only sell their stuff on the West Coast in fancy department stores, and they are an East Coast brand. This means the seasons get even more screwey compared to us. He bought some really nice "spring" sports jackets last year that he can basically wear all year round if it's not snowing.

  7. Hear! Hear! I'm in New Jersey and am wondering if I am the only one in the northeast part of the country that remembers last winter . . . which ended about 8 weeks ago? Why oh why are we in such a rush? And why are we such lemmings? I should wear tartan plaids, tights and riding boots because it's September?!?! Thanks for putting into words what I've been saying and thinking for years :-)

  8. I alternate between laughing and rolling my eyes at the stores that put out bikinis the day after Christmas (you know I'm talking about you Target). :o)

    It really does work to my advantage though, being able to buy things off the clearance rack that are weather appropriate. :o)


  9. I'm with you—I love a good clearance rack!

  10. Loved this post!!! I feel exactly the same way, it doesn't get cold here in Arkansas til mid December January, it's way to early for this jazz!

  11. I have to admit that I love all the Fall stuff, and now that I'm back in Texas (where summer seems to never end!) it just gets me excited for temps below 80. I guess since I love fall so much more than summer, I don't mind it. Either way, when it comes to shopping, I try to always hold out for the sales. I get a little crazy when they have Christmas stuff in stores by September though, cause it's just too soon!

  12. Go girl! I'm with you all the way.

  13. This post is worthy of appreciation, looking forward to more exciting! This post is worthy of appreciation, looking forward to more exciting!

  14. Oh wow! Yes, I bet you would miss seasons changing in a place like that! I do get the feeling of being excited for fall clothes eventually!

  15. Ha! Yes, I want to resist being a lemming!

  16. Great! Absolutely, it does feel like pushing us not to live in the moment. Thanks for articulating that!

  17. Absolutely, that does seem like a part of what bugs me, although I hadn't realized it. Let's live in the present!




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